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Before I buy any gun I try to find as many reviews and YouTube videos as I can. I'll also scroll through the forums to see what real people are saying. I don't really trust the big name publications or YouTube personalities (though I do find some of them to be entertaining). They never met a gun they didn't like. Sometimes, while researching one gun I'll fall down a rabbit hole and start looking at other guns. That's how I ended up with a SIG P220. I was in the market for a 1911 and then all of the sudden I was buying yet another SIG. A lot of times the research process will slow me down a bit as I'll find multiple guns that I'd like and I end up in a state of decision paralysis. But, at the end of the day, new gun research is a good time killer, and it's actually quite enjoyable.

I usually do a lot of research before buying any gun... it starts off with an itch or application and then turns into a list of needs/features and specs desired. Then the hunt for prospects, followed by a hunt for examples to hold or if possible shoot.

I had been wanting one. I was at the gun show and they had one used at a good price. I bought it. I found out right away that I didn't satisfy my craving because it wasn't a "Colt". So after kicking myself for several months and moaning about it. I bought a Colt and sold off the other one.

This might seem incredibly obvious, but it wasn't for me being a new shooter. Not all 1911s fit my hand very well. In order to use the thumb on top of the thumb safety grip I like, some 1911s put my thumb in an awkward/uncomfortable position which made that specific model a no-go. The big problem was I didn't have access to several of the guns I was interested in and I couldn't order a new gun and then return it if the grip didn't work for me.

None. I didn't need to. Back in 1992 (when I bought my first 1911) Colt was the only manufacturer of 1911's (or so I believed). But much to my despair, Col. Sam was outta my price range. But not the Norinco sitting on the shelf next to the Colt I wanted. I bought the Norinco...and have been very satisfied since then.
Today though is a different story.
Through research before I purchase.

'About' 20 years ago I wanted a 1911 in homage to my time on the Army pistol team at Ft Bragg in the early 70's.

I went shopping around within my budget level and happily found the Springfield Armory GI 1911. (no longer offered). VERY much reminiscent of my old rattley Remington Rand of yore. It works very well, still fun to take to the range, didn't cost an arm and a leg and retains the happy memories.

I never own more than 1 kind of firearm model, cuz I bore easily- lol - so it will keep on shooting till I'm gone, and then my kin can have at it. Can't say I've yearned to add any other 1911s.

I'm scientific about it. Every few years or so a particular 1911 will catch my eye/ fancy, and I'll keep up with that model, watching as the platform evolves over the years, looking at pictures, reading reviews, watching videos, etc. etc. Of course, this elongated time frame means that other models of 1911 come to my attention, so there's four of five at any given time that I'm really truly attracted to.

Now here's where the science comes in. I carefully monitor the level of desire corresponding to each model 1911, comparing each one's level of pull. This builds over the months and years, so the measuring is fairly often. When one of those desires finally breaks the glass on my lust-o-meter, that's when I buy it.

All very scientific, all very rational.

__________________There are men in all ages who mean to govern well, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters.

I shot USPSA for three years, making mental notes of what I liked, what others were using, etc.
The goal wasn't to find a "winning" gun, just what functional things, like sights, safeties, trigger, and what "wants", like finish, grips, etc., I'd choose.
It was going to be a single-stack .45, from the get-go.

__________________
If you're not shooting you should be moving. If you're not moving you should be reloading. If you're not shooting, moving, or reloading, you should be taping or picking brass. - Z.C.

Research is a good thing as long as you understand that you will get about as many different opinions as the individuals you ask, articles or reviews you read. Some things are just learned through personal experience or if you're very fortunate maybe from a very knowledgeable close personal friend. To prove my point there was a recent thread on Dan Wesson. Some contend that it is the best value in a factory 1911 while others have had problems with galling.

I thought two-tone 1911's looked cool and bought a Colt Combat Elite (1980's version). As mentioned above, when I bought it, there weren't many options other than Colt and the Combat Elite was one of the most feature laden 1911's available. At that time I probably had more money (disposable, at least) than brains, but the gun has worked out great for me.

Having the privilege of running monthly multi-gun matches - for the last 20-some-odd years - I get to see lots and lots of different guns in action (all of the good, bad, and ugly, so to speak). So far, that's been the best 'research' opportunity since, unlike with youtube videos, it's all first-hand, real-time. (Side note: The vast majority of issues encountered tend to be user-induced.) Having said that, since there's very little 'new' stuff that actually catches my fancy, I don't really get to put the vast majority of that 'research' to any good use whatsoever.

I usually research and plan all purchases. 1911s seem to be my exception.
My first 1911 was a gift to myself for passing a difficult test. I had looked at a couple gun mags and the advertisements for Kimber and Sig 1911s caught my eye. My engineer had a Kimber he liked and we had talked about.
On the way home from passing the test I swung by a few gun stores and looked at some 1911s. One definitely felt better than all the rest. But it's price was higher than I expected and who is Springfield Armory anyways?
What the hell, I bought the TRP then started to learn about 1911s.
Over the last year I had been considering a blue semi-custom but wasn't ready to commit yet.
This 99% SA Pro comes up for sale this month and I impulsively snap it up. I was definitely planning on a blue gun and again SA hadn't been on the radar.
Now you know my weakness.

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There is something to this 1911. I think it'll catch on.

When I got my first 1911 you didn't "research" anything.
You went down to the local LGS and took your pick.
Their were three choices;
1, Colt Government Model
2, Colt Commander
3, Colt Gold Cup
I wanted a GC,, but because it was, (IIRC,) ~ 25 dollars more I had to settle for a Govt. model.

I buy nothing 'new to the market', whether manufacturer or model. I research by reading (forums, range reports, gun reviews, etc.), then finding them to actually shoot, then read some more. I try to talk to people familiar with it. I usually buy a gun when I'm tired of reading about it, uncovered nothing I can't deal with, and saved enough money to purchase it.

Sorry, I did make a one time purchase of a newly released model that arrived at the store the day I was there. The Kel-Tec J3AT was just so cute, I bought it as a novelty.

When I got my first 1911 you didn't "research" anything.
You went down to the local LGS and took your pick.
Their were three choices;
1, Colt Government Model
2, Colt Commander
3, Colt Gold Cup
I wanted a GC,, but because it was, (IIRC,) ~ 25 dollars more I had to settle for a Govt. model.

Exactly. No cell phones, no internet, not even CDs at the time. Cars had carburetors and ran on leaded gas. Want a 1911? Buy a Colt.

I did no research on my very first 1911 back in the early 80s. I had already bought a Colt Trooper and a Colt Python as far as I was concerned there was no need to look at any other brand. I bought a stainless Government model. I research everything now that cost more than a couple hundred dollars.

__________________
I am a proud to be a member of the NRA, GOA, FPC and The 2nd Amendment Foundation

I did zero research for the first 1911 I paid for .... walked into the local gun shop and asked if they had any new Colt gov'ts .... bought the O1991 instead of the Gold Cup they had without much more than a standard in hand function and safety test ...

Got my first in 1973 after I got home from overseas - was trained in pistols with a Government Model GI issue Colt, so I got one of the new Mark IV Series 70. Shot it a lot; no research back in those days, and only knew of surplus GI's from Remington Rand, Ithaca, and Singer; new models in those days were pretty much limited to Colt. Sold it a few years later (about 1977) because I was hunting with the Ruger Super Blackhawk .44 Mag. and didn't shoot .45 ACP hardly at all. Several years later, when Texas passed the CHL license, no doubt in my mind that a 1911 was going to be my carry gun, and Kimber was making really great 1911's at that time, so I got a Pro Carry HD used for $400 OTD. After my best friend passed away at 59, I realized if I wanted to pass down something nice to my grandkids to remember me by, I wanted a heirloom quality 1911 - that's when I started researching the higher end makers for build options, finish options, customer service ratings, longevity of company, and who treated their customers like they were important. At that time, the best fit was Wilson Combat, so that's who I went with, and have never had any reason to look further for my wants; these days there are some other higher end makers that probably fit the requirement for most folks, but my research above took about 8 months on this forum to get all of those requirements graded for each manufacturer; so I guess for "researched" 1911's, it was about 8 months for me. YMMV.

Exactly. No cell phones, no internet, not even CDs at the time. Cars had carburetors and ran on leaded gas. Want a 1911? Buy a Colt.

Pre-internet (and yes I was already married and raising a family before it existed) gun magazines informed and fueled the desire, local gun shops showed you the goodies. When I bought my first handgun in 1970 there were not the options there are today to be sure, and you kinda trusted the guy behind the counter for buying advice.

After a few years of shooting my Glocks, M22 & M27, a shooting buddy asked if I wanted to try his new stainless, either Colt or Springfield 1911, don't recall now. This was in the summer of 2014. I shot so much better with the 1911, I immediately started looking for one. Another friend had a stainless "loaded" Springfield he felt was getting too heavy and wanted to get rid of it. I shot it a few times and paid him for it. It's the first of several new 1911s. My latest acquisition is a new stainless Wilson Combat Protector, a California model.

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